Archaeological tourism: looking for visitor loyalty drivers

Abstract

Revisit intention has become a focus of attention for archaeological sites management. Identifying visitors’ loyalty drivers to any tourism attraction is crucial but it is even more necessary for these non-renewable resources. This study was designed to analyse the role of service experience, new service bonds and perceived value in visitors’ revisit intention generation process. The main contribution of the research is that perceived value is, for the first time, conceptualised as a dimension that comprehends knowledge value, relational value and perceived relationship investment. Four hundred-seventy visitors to the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon (Peru) were surveyed. Results indicate that perceived value has the strongest impact on visitors’ loyalty, followed by the indirect effect of new service bonds mediated by perceived value. Moreover, the linkage between new service bonds and perceived value was determined as the most significant of all the relationships analysed.